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Books by Our Staff

Ron Watters has been with the Idaho State University Outdoor Program for many years.  Here's his biography about Walt Blackadar who is the whitewater world's most famous personality.  Blackadar, a medical doctor from Salmon, Idaho, became the very embodiment of high risk adventure sports.

NeverTurn Back:   
The Life of Whitewater Pioneer Walt Blackadar   
"This fascinating and masterfully written book is considered one of the outdoor world's finest works." Books In Print
 
Brief Description Table of Contents Excerpts Reviews The Author Getting a Copy
Never Turn Back Cover
 
Book Details:  

304 pages    
6" x 9" size  
16 pages of photographs  
2 maps  
Index & Source Notes 
  
Paper:     
ISBN 1-877625-03-5    

Hardbound:    
ISBN 1-877625-02-7    

Library Binding:    
ISBN 1-877625-04-3

 
Brief Description
NEVER TURN BACK is the gripping and compelling life story of Dr. Walt Blackadar, a physician from a small town in Idaho.  At the age of 49, he shocked the outdoor world when he made a solo kayak journey down the treacherous rapids of Turnback Canyon on the remote and wild Alsek River in Canada and Alaska.
    Blackadar's accomplishment on Turnback Canyon was the river equivalent of the first ascent of Everest, and when excerpts from his Alsek journal were published in Sports Illustrated, he became an instant sensation.  He was at the top of his sport at an age when most athletes are long retired. 
     Then suddenly, his spectacular rise veered wildly off course when a young woman tragically died on one of his kayaking expeditions.  Heartbroken over her death and plagued with mounting physical problems, his kayaking technique began to deteriorate. 
    Yet he had a spirit that was irrepressible, and pitting himself in a race against his body's clock, he sought out and faced off against the world's most formidable whitewater.


More Information


  Table of Contents 
(From the book, Never Turn Back)


Prologue:  The Portal 
Chapter 1  Salmon City 
Chapter 2  The Middle and the Main 
Chapter 3  Esquimautage 
Chapter 4  Emergency Call from North Fork 
Chapter 5  A Look in the Mirror 
Chapter 6  "In the Gorge and Stranded" 
Chapter 7  The Big Su 
Chapter 8  Tragedy on the West Fork 
Chapter 9  The Biggest Ride 
Chapter 10 On the Edge 
Chapter 11 I'll Be Back 
Chapter 12 Through the Night 
Chapter 13 River of No Return 
Epilogue 
Acknowledgments 
Source Notes 
Index 

(Maps of Idaho and Alaska and 16 pages of photographs appear between pages 120 and 121.) 






Excerpt 
(From the book, Never Turn Back) 
FromThe Prologue ("The Portal")


Reviews
(Of the book, Never Turn Back) 

Los Angeles Daily News gives Never Turn Back their highest rating for a book: Four Stars.  "It's the best thing to come across this reviewer's desk in recent memory"Brett Pauly, LA Daily News

"Bully for Watters!" San Francisco Chronicle

"Magnificent . . . told with sparkling clarity . . . truly inspirational."William Bushnell, Eclectic Book Reviews of the Library Research Associates, New York

"This is a rare book, intelligently and honestly written, an entertaining and thought-provoking biography of a hero." --Liam Guilar, Out There, Australia's Premier Outdoor Magazine.

"A triumph!  I couldn't put it down." Jerry Dixon, river guide, author, teacher, and Alaska's Christa McAuliffe Fellow from Seward, Alaska 

"A work of art.  It almost reads like fiction, yet it is all fact." Barb Wright, 1967 World Whitewater Champion, Missoula, Montana

"I found the book riveting."  John Gastineau, North Carolina, NEVER TURN BACK reviewed on the Internet

"Packed with action and real life adventure." Diane Donovan,  The Bookwatch, Midwest Book Reviews 

"The story is told brilliantly."  Rocky Barker, Letters from the West 

"Uncommonly well-written and well edited."  Eric Evans, Writer, Book Critic & National Whitewater Kayak Champion, Putney, Vermont 

"Watters has created a book that reads more like a novel than a biography." Eugene Buchanan, Editor, Paddler Magazine

"Watters captures a surprising tenderness and depth to Blackadar.  I guarantee you'll come away from reading this book with a lot of smiles and laughter and a contagious feeling that life is worth living to the fullest."Doug Ammons, American Whitewater


The Author
Click here for a biographic sketch of the author.


Getting a Copy
Youcan get a signed copy from the author Ron Watters who is our Writer-in-residence.  More information is found here.  


Other Books:
Guide to Idaho Paddling | Winter Tales & Trails | Never Turn Back | Ski Camping | Outdoor Programming Handbook | Dutch Oven Cookbook |National Outdoor Books | Dancing with the Bear


More Informational Resoures: On-line Idaho Guides | Videos | Equipment Lists | Helpful Outdoor Information | Software | Outdoor Education Papers | Conference Proceedings | How to Reach Us

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